Roughly a year ago I noticed that some Aiptasia anemones had appeared in my reef aquarium. I knew they would spread and eventually become an issue, but it wasn't until this fall that the population really started to expand.
Throughout the summer I used a product from Red Sea called Aiptasia-X. It includes a blunt syringe for applying the compound to the mouth of the anemone, which then ingests the material and almost immediately shrivels up and dies. Doing this weekly, kept the population in check for several months. Eventually the population of anemones became too large and rebounded from applications too fast for this manual method to remain practical.
My second approach was to introduce four peppermint shrimp, Lysmata wurdemanni complex. Conventional wisdom (ie, what people claim on aquarium forums) held that peppermint shrimp might have a taste for Aiptasia, but that it varied by individual. Having kept the shrimp before in my tank, I knew they were fairly interesting regardless of wether they ate anemones or not, so in they went. Within five days of introducing the four shrimp, there were zero observable Aiptasia anemones in my tank.
I got my shrimp as part of a larger order from Live Aquaria's "Build your own cleanup crew" offer. Selecting $60 or more of commonly used cleanup species gets you free overnight shipping, a pretty good deal.
Throughout the summer I used a product from Red Sea called Aiptasia-X. It includes a blunt syringe for applying the compound to the mouth of the anemone, which then ingests the material and almost immediately shrivels up and dies. Doing this weekly, kept the population in check for several months. Eventually the population of anemones became too large and rebounded from applications too fast for this manual method to remain practical.
My second approach was to introduce four peppermint shrimp, Lysmata wurdemanni complex. Conventional wisdom (ie, what people claim on aquarium forums) held that peppermint shrimp might have a taste for Aiptasia, but that it varied by individual. Having kept the shrimp before in my tank, I knew they were fairly interesting regardless of wether they ate anemones or not, so in they went. Within five days of introducing the four shrimp, there were zero observable Aiptasia anemones in my tank.
I got my shrimp as part of a larger order from Live Aquaria's "Build your own cleanup crew" offer. Selecting $60 or more of commonly used cleanup species gets you free overnight shipping, a pretty good deal.
Labels: Invertebrates, Link, Reef Aquarium
